Factors Contributing to Oil Losses in Crude Palm Oil Production Process in Malaysia: A Review

Abstract

One of the key performance indicators of the palm oil mill is the oil extraction rate (OER), indicating the amount of oil that can be extracted from the fresh fruit bunches (FFB). The OER currently fluctuates throughout the years. Thus, this paper reviews the technical factors contributing to the fluctuation of OER in terms of oil losses in the crude palm oil (CPO) production process in Malaysia. The sources of oil losses could be attributed to oil palm planting materials, loose fruits, ripe bunches and unstripped bunches (USB) andprevention actions have been reported by several researchers. High oil losses also occur at the waste streams during processing, such as steriliser condensate, pressed mesocarp fibre and sludge from clarification process.Moreover, oil losses have a significant impact on CPO revenue. The future outlook of Malaysian CPO is promising for CPO export, import and revenue in the year 2020 due to the implementation of biodiesel (B7, B10 and B20) in the industrial and transport sectors. All relevant parties in the palm oil industry should understand the factors contributing to oil losses for necessary actions taken to improve OER and reduce oil losses as well as achieve a sustainable palm oil industry. Keywords; palm oil, oil loss, oil extraction rate, sustainable